Indonesia proves a shining light for tennis development amid Covid-19

“You can have some beaten up, old court which you don’t even think of as being a tennis court and suddenly get 50 kids on it with equipment – it’s fantastic to see.”

Those are the words of Jonathan Stubbs, who has been witnessing the growth of tennis in South, South East and East Asia since January 2018 when he was appointed the ITF’s development officer for the region.  

Within that time the number of nations within the region to be part of the ITF’s Junior Tennis Initiative (JTI) – the 14-and-under development programme – has grown considerably and now stands at 16.  

The JTI provides opportunities for increased participation and identifies talented individuals for focused development within their country, with Indonesia – the world’s largest island country – among the most recent to have joined in 2019. 

Nations such as Sri Lanka and Cambodia have long since boasted a strong JTI, but throughout an uncertain period and against the backdrop of disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Indonesia’s programme has thrived.  

Stubbs cites Indonesia’s “great team” led by JTI Coordinator Martin Setiawan for the significant increase in the number of kids participating in the JTI during 2020 compared to the previous year. A total of 2,697 players featured during the previous 12 months, up from 2,202 in 2019.

There was also a surge in the number of red, orange and green ball development sessions throughout the year, with the youngest age-group within that scale showcasing a staggering increase of close to 200 per cent.

The plan in Indonesia now is for the national association to work with the Ministry of Education and Culture to train teachers to become deliverers so the programme can be widened across a nation with a population approaching 300 million.

Factor in the Indonesia Tennis Association has recently attained bronze level within the ITF’s Recognition of Coach Education Systems programme, meaning they can independently train deliverers, and it is “a pretty exciting prospect” according to Stubbs.  

The potential to expand the sport and provide experiences to countless individuals is clear, something which is more than just words and ambition. In fact, it is an ongoing process, with the satisfaction of providing a sporting opportunity which did not previously exist eminently tangible.

This was highlighted in recent weeks by the provision and delivery of equipment, with assistance provided to national associations by the ITF, to allow JTI sessions to take place.

“When I was sent some footage, I was shocked because you could actually see JTI equipment being delivered,” Stubbs told itftennis.com. “It went to a club in the middle of the East Java province of Indonesia.

“The president and the kids were unpacking this equipment and they were smiling and cheering and I just thought ‘wow’. It was a golden moment and lovely to see.

“You could immediately see the impact which this equipment had because they could start to play tennis. They can also start to have programmes and all the other things which can happen. Visually it was very powerful.

“Their faces say it all and what I see is happy kids. It’s almost like Christmas, like they’re all excited opening their Christmas presents. It’s incredible.”

Such scenes are not reserved for just Indonesia, whose tennis development has been buoyed by Priska Madelyn Nugroho being crowned a Junior Grand Slam doubles champion at the 2020 Australian Open.

Such excitement has been replicated in places such as Malaysia, Singapore and Myanmar as the JTI continues to make a sizeable and lasting contribution to tennis development within the region.

It is also likely to prove key as the ITF continues its drive to broaden opportunity, support talent and work towards achieving an ambitious target of 120 million people – another 30 million – playing the sport globally by 2030.

A potential boost to that quest is the adoption of the JTI by the Chinese Tennis Association within the last year, although their participation has been severely restricted due to Covid-19.

For Stubbs, the possibilities within his region are phenomenal, with the potential for driving participation and retaining those players evident from the results and findings of the 2019 ITF Global Tennis Report.

“China is a big one," added Stubbs. "In the ITF Global Tennis Report, China was revealed to have the largest tennis playing population in the world at nearly 20 million players.

"The goal is to see a significant number of unique users there, especially now that China has joined the ITF World Tennis Number, which launches from this month.

“Speaking more generally, Asia has 60 per cent of the world’s population and there are some vast nations within my area, so you’re talking a massive, massive opportunity for growth. The numbers could be unbelievable. 

"Clearly, we can’t do everything today but if we plan well now, we could theoretically have a very large impact in the second half of the year. It’s very exciting.” 

As the year of participation unfolds, ITFWorld and itftennis.com will return to South, South East and East Asia to check on progress, but will also circumnavigate the globe and report on what is happening throughout the various regions of the world.

To read the ITFWorld article during which development officer Gary Purcell presents an overview of the participation picture in the Pacific Oceania region and indulges in a spot of island hopping, please click here.